Did I mention my new bag?

The Hermes Birkin. The Chanel 2.55. The Mulberry Bayswater.

What are they I hear you say?

They are bags, beautiful, amazing, stylish, delectable, highly sought after bags.

Not just bags, ‘IT’ bags.

These bags claim to be classics. The sort that will never be unfashionable.

The sort that the wealthy buy in batches yet normal girls like me can only dream of owning.

And that I do. Every day I envision how my outfit would look if I could add the Mulberry Alexa in Oak Ostrich (my personal favourite bag of all time) to it.

But seeing as it costs almost as much as a year’s rent, I somehow don’t think my student budget will stretch that far.

On my first day of university I was introduced to my flat mate and quite frankly as soon as I met her I was over ridden with jealously. Hanging off her arm she had my dream bag, there in all its wonderfulness. I was in awe.

I later discovered she had even more amazing bags hidden away in her room, and I’m sure you can imagine my excitement when she told me, ‘you can borrow any of them any time you want’.  So of course I snapped up the offer, I chose to borrow her pale brown patent Mulberry Bayswater for a friend’s birthday meal and I can honestly say my borrowed bag got more attention than the birthday girl herself.

So why are bags such as these so appealing? I mean they are probably retailed at 10 times what they actually cost to make and when it comes down to it there just a leather handbag with a designer name or logo emblazoned on the front. They are usually quite plain and come in fairly standard colours, with hardly an evidence that it had been bought from one of the world’s best fashion houses.

Many people could look at a Hermes Birkin and not give it a second thought, but girls like me could spot one a mile away.

The scenes of Gossip Girl are full of these bags, Serena Van Der Woodsen appears to own every designer bag ever made and whatever she doesn’t own her best friend Blair Waldorf is likely to have in at least five different colours. Magazine pages are shrouded with the season’s top 10 pieces of arm candy. Victoria Beckham is rumoured to have over 100 Birkin bags all in different colours, the Kardashian Sisters between them must have about 500 designer holdalls, whilst Beyonce probably has enough to give the whole population of NYC a bag each.

Ok, so it all does sound a little superficial and shallow does it not? But we still all want one right? (at least us girls do ).  If Kim Kardashian can have a 10 Birkins why can’t we?

Well, I can only guess but I doubt Kimmy Khad to pay for any of her Birkin bags at all. This is because of the simply genius actions of the PR team behind Hermes. Their business strategy probably goes a little like this:

Step 1: Send a celebrity a few new bags.

Step 2: The celebrity uses the bags and paparazzi gain pictures of them with the bag.

Step 3: Bag instantly comes more desirable to the public.

Step 4: sales of the bag increase

Simple isn’t it? And probably a lot cheaper than conjuring up an extravagant marketing campaign. It gets the bags seen by many different audiences and the picture of a celebrity with their bag has the potential to be all over magazines and newspapers supplying a business with perfect coverage of their product.

I just can’t see why Mulberry aren’t sending their newest recruit the Mulberry Carter … I’m a student, please mulberry have some sympathy!

Creative billboards, TV ads, making our own reality show- maybe? The more I thought about it, the more I found it ironic that in an industry where we know everything there is to know about brand, image and reputation management, the reputation of its workforce is false.

In any case, I was reading a post by Stuart Elliot in The New York Times called Redefining Public Relations in the Age of Social Media and thought this very much linked to what I had to say.

First of all, we all know that there are tons of definitions of Public Relations, all leading up pretty much the same thing: creating mutual relationships between an organization and its publics. Basics. Anyways, Stuart Elliot and The New York Times suggest that the way in which this has been done is now changing. And I agree.

In ancient times (before social media) PR was a one-way communication monologue. Fast forward to 2011 (almost 2012) and this conversation now goes two ways. In present time, PR practitioners are worshiping hashtags, eager to learn everything there is to know about creating relationships online.

I’d say by now we are pretty skilled Facebook and Twitter users, don’t you agree? And I am sure almost all of you aspiring PR professionals have a tumblr (I was trying to get a new title on my tumblr the other week and was hoping for ‘Morning Coffee’. Hopeless. I’m telling you, it’s a crowded tumblr world out there!)

Proving Samantha Jones wrong

So why don’t we use these to prove Samantha Jones and her no-nonsense and ignorant attitude wrong? In other words, let’s look at how PR practitioners are using these social media platforms to govern their behaviour.

An area of PR embracing social media is Fashion PR. Think Fashion Week for example. Twitter and Tumblr are tools that fashion brands are using to bring the audience behind the scenes of what the brand is doing – all the time. Works just like a backstage pass, trust me. This is a great way of creating a brand personality and brand awareness for that matter. Hence, this is not done on one day. It’s an ongoing process and it is important to have a strategic plan.

For example, who is going to be the face of the brand? How can the brand best listen and reply to its consumers? How much should you reveal about the brand? How does your share of voice compare to competitors and even more importantly: are you allowed to talk about competitors? What are the needs of the target audience and how can your brand help to address these? What excites them? The list goes on. If you excel at this, the next person calling you a Kelly Cutrune must have missed reading your tumblr – or simply missed his morning coffee.

Ubersocial PR girl

I am a fan of DKNY PR GIRL as you might have noticed if you have read my previous posts. I read her posts daily and I’m amazed by how this brand has succeeded in creating a brand personality – always ongoing conversations, constantly updating and re-tweeting with relevant pictures of both DKNY and NYC. After following her, I now know what they mean by ‘the city that never sleeps.’

There are plenty of other fashion brands out there that are pretty awesome tumblr and twitter users. Yet, not everyone are as ubersocial as DKNY.

Oscar de la Renta for example, posts a little less, writes a little less and tweets a little less. Although, by following Erika Bearman, the PR girl behind this luxury brand, you definitely get a sense of what type of woman the brand wants to portray: an elegant woman who is sophisticated, international and very intellectual. She is friendly and calm, social and considerate.

In sum: Stop watching (or at least stop believing in) reality shows. As much as I dislike (hate is a strong word) how the Internet – quite frankly – has become a sneaky little time-stealer, it is important to know how to manage social media platforms. Stuart Elliot is right; PR is changing! And I see this as a great advantage when it comes to improving the reputation of its workforce.

So, if you are thinking about a career in Fashion PR or any PR industry for that matter, get a tumblr and twitter account and learn how to manage these really well! We don’t need any billboards or TV ads to prove Samantha Jones wrong. Social media is the way to go!

And for the next person telling you that people in fashion PR have a bad attitude, you should ask them: why on earth would big international brands like Oscar de la Renta then pick a PR girl to manage the image of their brand? I mean, this powerful man has been in the fashion industry for decades and would surely know a bad promotion when he saw one.

Charlotte Giver

Who is your favourite character in Sex and the City? Many would say Carrie Bradshaw but recently I have heard a lot of people referring to Samantha Jones. Chocker? Yes!

You might remember her as the blonde publicist with a no-nonsense attitude who likes designer bags as much as she likes dating (yes, let’s just call it that). SATC Samantha is not the only character that today’s pop culture has created to portray public relations.

So, when you are trying to explain to your family, friends and boyfriend/girlfriend what you do, don’t blame them if they are thinking about Samantha Jones or the bitchy Kelly Cutrone in the reality show The City. Needless to say, media portrayals have succeeded in stereotyping women in fashion PR into one category, alas: bitchy, ignorant, intimidating women who like designer brands and to plan and attend glamorous events.

But wait, that is not you. You are not ignorant and ice-cold. You like to work hard, write press materials, meet people from different countries and cultures, create events and social media. Immediately you start to defend yourself and the PR industry, am I right?

Being a PR student, I know that a degree in public relations is like a marketing and journalism degree combined. In other words, you will graduate to be a smart kid, interested in so much more than shoes and the latest designers.

However, people like to talk. It is as simple as that and just as DKNY PR girl wrote on her tumblr ‘people love to group other people in buckets.’

But for someone who is not in PR, they simply don’t know any better than believing in the outdated cliché that they have followed on TV shows such as The Hills, The Spin Crowd and Entourage.

Grown-up mean girls

Meredith Lepore recently published an article on the subject in The Grindstone, where she simply asked ‘are PR girls just grown up mean girls?’ The article immediately got a lot of attention in the PR world and many commentators where quick to point out that it is unfair that hard working men are being called go-getters while hard working women are called ‘bitches’.

The false impression of fashion PR and what it takes to be successful in the industry is dangerous. From own experience, working in fashion PR, you will be working with
fun, outgoing, positive and smart people. I would say that if you don’t have a warm and positive attitude, you will be less likely to get the job.

If you step into the industry acting like a ‘bitch’, people will get annoyed. I can assure you of that. After all, Public Relations is all about relationships, whether it is financial or fashion PR. Although a client wants a PR firm tough enough to handle their account, having a tough approach does not mean having a bad attitude (no one wants a relationship with a Debbie Downer). Nor do you need a bad or nonchalant attitude to stay ahead of competition.

I’d say: just don’t let anyone take advantage of you (don’t leak any information about your client to competitors), stay ahead of the game, get press, work hard, stay on top of social media, smile and make your clients happy.

So before you are applying for a job in Fashion PR, stop believing in the outdated cliché you see on TV because no one wants to be that movie.

You can follow Charlotte on: http://yourcoffeebreak.tumblr.com/

Elli Share: dreaming of a fashion PR placement

Whenever I tell people I want to have a career in fashion I’m always met with something that goes along the lines of ‘oh, that’s nice’. But I can tell that behind the friendly-yet-slightly-condescending reply, they think I’m just another 18 year old girl living their life through the contents of Heat Magazine.

OK, so I’ll be the first to admit that my knees go weak at the thought of a pair of designer shoes but that isn’t the only thing that draws me to the fashion PR industry.

The fashion world is an ever-changing environment and the thought of being in a job where one day is never the same as the next entices me. Being able to combine a personal hobby and interest of mine with a career is something I have always aspired to do, so with this in mind, I am currently in my first year of studying Public Relations at Leeds Metropolitan University.

Alongside my lectures and seminars I have been avidly trying to learn as much about the industry as possible. I have read numerous articles from people having had placements at fashion PR agencies, or positions in-house, and these have been immensely helpful in giving me an idea of what the actual workplace is like.

Foot in shoe, then in door

But how else can I learn more about fashion PR until I get that all-important work placement?

A while ago I stumbled across a blog named PR Couture whose tagline, ‘Fashion PR’s Haute Spot’ couldn’t be more spot on.

In spite of it being an American-based blog, it has proved invaluable in supplying me, and many other readers, with a wealth of engaging articles, interviews and tips that have enabled me to get a clear idea of what the industry is like and the various tasks that fashion PR’s have to carry out.

As well as this, they also have a list of fashion PR agencies situated across America, which may prove useful to me as I am very interested in spending my placement year across the pond. I now find myself checking this website on a regular basis to get the latest inside scoop and to see if there is anything else that will quench my knowledge thirst.

As well as PR Couture, I also regularly visit other fashion blogs to ensure I never miss a beat.

Only 5 years ago, blogging was barely heard of, but it has now become a phenomenon that has taken the internet by storm with bloggers covering everything from celebrity gossip to political issues.

Because of the overflowing number of blogs out there, it can be tricky to find one that you can relate to and most importantly, want to actually read, but one of my personal favourites, that I find myself repeatedly going back to, is Fashion Toast.

The author of this blog, Rumi Neely, has become a celebrity in her own right through her innovative posts and exquisite photographs. For this reason, the blog has won numerous awards and has established itself as the prime fashion blog out there.

Other than reading and catching up with various fashion and PR based blogs, I have found Twitter to be fundamental in getting access to and to gain a greater understanding of people working in fashion PR.

The River Island PR team have their own Twitter account which they update regularly with all the PR news relating to the company and through this they have also provided budding fashion PR practitioners, such as myself, with a direct link to a major brand’s press office.

River Island are not the only fashion brand to have their own PR Twitter account. The PR girls of luxury designers, DKNY and Oscar De La Renta also have their own individual accounts which they constantly update with their whereabouts or the tasks that they are carrying out at that particular time. As well as reading these tweets to simply be nosey, they also allow me to see what daily life is like for a fashion PR and all the hard work that gets put into maintaining a brand’s image.

The internet is not the only way in which I’ve attempted to learn more about fashion PR. It may seem superficial to some, but by reading highly established fashion magazines such as Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar you can often see the finished product of all the work that PR practitioners have put in. The huge quadruple page spreads by Gucci or Dior are there down to the works of the PR team and the thought of seeing something that I have worked on actually being published in print is something that I find very exciting.

I am not naïve enough to think that the lifestyle of a fashion PR is all champagne-sipping and red-carpet-event-attending. I know that the days are long and tiring, and it can be stressful keeping up with all the incoming and outgoing stock.

However, there are negative points to every profession and I would like to think that these are all outweighed by the excitement of waking up, not knowing what that day will bring, or the immense satisfaction of seeing a celebrity wearing something that you had sent them.

I will continue to strive to learn more about the fashion PR industry but ultimately I know that the main way of getting my foot in the door is to gain work experience in the field. Therefore, I am currently in the process of applying for a summer 2012 work placement either in-house or for agency and I’m keeping my fingers crossed. The fashion industry is a very competitive one and so the best organisations need creative and talented PR practitioners working for them.

Why can’t that person be me?

Yasmin (centre) and colleagues off to a Todd Lynn fashion show

With seven clients showing – Antonio Berardi, Aquascutum, Christopher Kane, House of Holland, Osman, Richard Nicoll and Todd Lynn – there was so much to be done that I had never expected.

Invitation request lists had to be analysed and reanalysed daily, addresses for invites had to be requested or found, then came the long task of handwriting each invitation for every show.

Particular looks from each designer’s SS12 collection often got requested by celebrities so we had to ensure that every item was in the showroom, regardless of whether it had only just been sent out to New York two days prior to the request.

The stress that came with the lead up to fashion week didn’t seem worth it, until we got to request shows to work at.

The popular choices for interns to choose seemed to be those that would be filled with celebrities to awe over, however that didn’t interest me.

I knew which shows I wanted to work, as I loved the collections of each designer, I was determined to make sure I was at each show. Antonio Berardi, Aquascutum, Richard Nicoll and Todd Lynn – my determination paid off.

It seemed only fair that I had more shows than other interns. I would do anything in order to make sure there were no slip ups, I turned up earlier than requested for every show, I upheld a professionalism that I had never cared to have before and even when I’d been helping backstage as soon as the first model hit the runway I had the same mind-blowing excitement for every show.

Fashion has always been an important aspect of my life. In choosing a university degree I always considered whether a particular course would prohibit me from finding a path in to the fashion industry.

Public relations seemed like a perfect career to be part of the industry without the stigma that working in fashion can often bring. And I was yet to reconsider my career options when I decided to take on a placement in one of the world’s leading fashion PR agencies.

I had stumbled across The Communications Store. I’d heard of other top agencies in London such as Relative MO and Karla Otto from reading fashion week articles in Elle and Vogue, but would always dismiss them as being unrealistic placement choices.

When I came across The Communications Store (TCS) all of those doubts were replaced with determination, I had never felt more passionate about a prospective job opportunity before – and although it was just for a work placement I knew that I would do anything to get it.

Foot in door

I initially emailed Natalia Cassel, a Group Account Director at TCS asking whether I could interview her for my portfolio. Once this was done I enquired about the possibility of doing a summer placement. I quickly worked out how busy the fashion industry was. After two months of emails between Natalia and HR it seemed my persistence had paid off and I was offered a four-month placement from early June until the end of September.

My first day was possibly one of the most exhausting of my life. I obviously arrived early so sat drinking coffee to calm my nerves before actually going in to the building. I hadn’t really thought about what to expect but was stunned to find that everyone was welcoming.

What I also hadn’t anticipated was the amount of work an intern was expected to do. Alongside eight other interns it was our job to do pretty much anything and everything that needed to be done.

The heart of the office is the showroom

A fashion PR agency is unlike a normal PR office environment in almost every way. The standard computers, desks and boardroom remains the same, but in fashion PR the heart of the office is the showroom and it was the interns’ role – under the guidance of the fashion merchandiser – to make sure it was spotless.

It took me only a week to realise that would never happen. It took me only a day to realise that no intern should ever start on a Monday with low work expectations.

A fashion intern’s main role at TCS was to book out send-outs or book in returns. Unlike conventional campaign and press release work, the majority of PR in fashion is sending out clothes for publication or press.

As TCS has such a high-profile client list, including Christopher Kane, Missoni, Nicholas Oakwell, Roland Mouret and Versace, it was imperative that the whereabouts of every item of clothing was known. Stock checks became a regular part of my summer; in fact my work placement began to become my life.

I had never been so passionate about working before. I became so involved with working at TCS that it seemed to be the only thing I did. I struggled to keep on top of the blog I had intended to be a diary for my placement, and the regular tweets I had initially hoped to do were unrealistic in such a busy environment.

Feels like full-time

What I had anticipated to be a regular work placement became what seemed to be a full-time job. Working 9-6 Monday to Friday meant that I was constantly tired, after the commute back home every evening all I wanted to do was sleep. I began to struggle to find any motivation to work and began to cherish my weekends up to Leeds or going back home to Essex.

After a week in Ibiza I knew I had to decide whether I wanted to continue my placement. It wasn’t until my first day back at TCS after my holiday that I realised how much I’d missed the office. It also seemed pointless to even consider leaving my placement early after the effort it had taken to get it. I’d forgotten before how much I loved the family environment, the spontaneous tea breaks – that I usually started – and the random errands I’d always offer to run. It took being away from that environment and actually having downtime to realise how much I loved working at TCS.

Put off fashion PR

I had so many different feelings about the PR industry and which field I hoped to go in to once I finished my degree. After the first couple of months of my placement I had assumed I’d been completely put off fashion PR and that the placement had shown me that I didn’t want to be part of the industry.

However, by the end of fashion week I had fallen completely back in love with fashion. I realised how privileged I was to have worked for such a fantastic company alongside amazing people. I’m still unsure whether fashion PR is definitely for me, but that’s the whole point of work placements, to gain an experience of what you might want to do with your life.  I now know that fashion PR is still very much an option.

Rebecca Hardisty: initially unsure about PR

Unlike fashion, I didn’t know I would fall in love with PR; I didn’t even know what it was until I became a prospective student at the University of Gloucestershire.

It was not until my third year of university, when an unlikely turn of events brought my two passions together when I went to work at We Are Social, a London based ‘conversation agency’ for 6 months as part of the Fashion and Lifestyle team.

I was relatively new to social media at the start of my placement year, but after the three months internship prior to starting at We Are Social, I had the understanding and the enthusiasm to know it was where I wanted to be. It was never the stereotypical fashion PR role people think of, but I loved it.

I didn’t deal with designers or talk to fashion press, nor did it have the bitchy office atmosphere. But I did get to live, breath, read and write blogs about fashion. One of my fondest memories of my work experience was getting to go to London Fashion Week.

Social media has breathed new life into the fashion industry and I feel lucky that I was able to be a part of it for a short time.

Fashion bloggers have become online celebrities for their beautiful photography, ‘Outfits of the Day’ and individual writing styles. It is the rich content that keeps their readers coming back for more, which is what makes a successful blog – influence through a specialised readership.

This new kind of celebrity has taken them behind the scenes, onto the red carpets of high profile fashion events and amongst the fashion fabulous at fashion weeks. They’ve inspired their readers and the brands.

Many fashion brands have realised the potential opportunities that blogger outreach can bring, with many global brands already incorporating this into their social media marketing strategies.

One of my favourite campaigns was Lanvin for H&M. The French fashion house created a collection for the high street favourite and invited bloggers to be some of the first to get their hands on their coveted pieces.

Arguably the biggest fashion blog, Style Bubble, is run by Susanna Lau, who has made a career out of blogging. Her blog, started in 2006, now draws in over 300,000 visitors.

Like with celebrities, having products featured on influential blogs is golden. It’s better than advertising and certainly cheaper. Just look at the success Reiss has had because of Kate Middleton after she was featured twice wearing two of their dresses – the famous blue engagement dress and the bandage dress she wore to meet President Obama and the First Lady.

Both times, the Reiss website crashed due to the high level of traffic to the site.  Imagine the power of a blog with a readership of over 100,000 visitors, who all see their favourite blogger wearing a chosen piece. They are all likely to want to go out and find that item, and most bloggers will usually tell you where it is from.

Brands have certainly cottoned on to this and often send products to bloggers to test and post about.

What all brands need to understand is that bloggers are real people and they are not all the same, there are many different types of fashion blog and blogger. Knowing this is fundamental when outreaching to bloggers.

Bloggers are passionate about what they write about and they want to share that passion. The more original content they have, the more influential they become. If you enable them to blog about something that they and their readers will find of interest, they are likely to respond well.

Through this medium, many bloggers become brand advocates. Like all good PR practitioners know, the aim is to build good relationships and this is true in blog communications.

Yet with the free speech that the internet gives us, it is very easy for bloggers to bad mouth you if you upset them –  and they often will!

I would say to anyone that work experience is invaluable, but it can always be thoroughly enjoyable too. Internships are too commonly highlighted negatively for being unpaid and unfair. Whilst this is an issue in the public relations industry, properly structured and fair internships can provide a way forward.

It is hard to get work without experience but internships give students the chance to shine. If anyone knows, it is me; I had three in one year! Finding a job you love is for many people, a lifelong ambition. Internships give you the opportunity to find what you love, learn along the way and have a little fun.

Charlotte Giver living it up in LA

It is funny how I ended up working in the industry. Once upon a time, I was one of those people that thought that anyone involved in the fashion industry was shallow and superficial. At the same time though, I was wearing the latest designers and rocking my studded stilettos.

However, it was not until one of my friends over in the US introduced me to the world of fashion and entertainment PR by giving me the contact information to a well-known PR agency in Los Angeles that I actually fell in love with the profession. At the time, I was in the process of landing an internship for my third year of university; also known as the placement year (I don’t believe you can graduate without any work experience listed in CV…)

After a skype-interview (gotta love the new technology!) I got the internship and arrived at Los Angeles International Airport in June 2011, wearing a sundress, straw-hat and a big smile on my lips.

So how was it like to work in one of the most dynamic professions, in one of the world’s most dynamic cities?

Footsore and fancy free

I can only speak for fashion PR but interning in America is often unpaid and working in fashion is pretty much a slave job!  If you have watched Andy Sachs in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, you know what I am talking about. My feet went on strike after the first two weeks. All of the running around to Starbucks, Staples, FedEx, Copymat and the newsstand, I wanted to pretend that heels did not exist.

It didn’t matter how many shoes I got to pick out of the shoe-closet as a reward for my hard work, my feet refused to step into any shoe with a heel. But do you know what? It was all worth it!

Yes, all of that running around was exactly what I needed in order to do to prove just how much I wanted to do a good job at Red Light PR. I learned that what might be seen as a hierarchy will only work in your advantage! Unpaid or not, you are working yourself up! And a little PR101: don’t whine!

By knowing exactly how to work the word reputation management in the world of PR, you will make yourself, your boss and your company look good. I am talking about keeping a good relationship with the clients, stylists, editors and entertainment managers.

Keep on wearing that big smile of yours and with a little hard work, blood, sweat and tears, your internship will pay off!

Needless to say, as an intern, it is very important to create a good relationship with your boss, manager and colleagues. The first day of my internship, I went around the office and introduced myself. I got along great with the other interns and spent a lot of time with them after work and during the weekends. When I was assigned to the Fashion Director and the Account Executive of the women’s department, I made sure that I went to see them every morning in order to show interest and create a good relationship. I asked them if they wanted some coffee, if there was anything in particular that they needed me to do and how the day looked like.

My year of internship has now come to and end but if I could, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! Yes, it has been a whirlwind at times and working unpaid for an entire year is something many people think is insane. But I tell you one thing: the people I have met, the places I’ve seen and everything that I have learned and experienced make it all worthwhile!

I mean, hey, I even lived in the same apartment complex as Heidi Montag and Lauren Conrad in the first episodes of the Hills!

Charlotte Giver is a final year student at Bournemouth University

Isabella Oliver was founded in 2003 and first concentrated on supplying stylish maternity clothes for women who weren’t prepared to compromise their style during their pregnancy. At the request of customers, they then created a 365 Collection range offering non-maternity fashion.

Based in London, they’re a well known company with many pregnant celebrity fans as well as an extremely loyal customer base. I first came across them in 2009 when I was introduced to the opportunity to do some work experience in the PR and marketing team whist studying for my A-levels. Two years later and I was delighted when I was offered the chance to rejoin the team for a summer placement with Michelle, the fantastic PR manager. After communicating with her about the various logistics of the placement I was ready and raring to get started.

As a massive fashion fanatic I really enjoyed my work experience week with the company the first time round, but I had no idea how much I would embrace and appreciate this new experience with them. Michelle and all of the team work very closely and I admire the respect and appreciation everyone shows each other in the office. Every morning I could be sure that I would be looked after and praised as well as kept busy and active allowing me to get a fabulous range of experience.

Some of my daily duties included helping out with the management of the showroom and all the samples. I was responsible for sending out a lot of samples to magazines and dealing with the press for shoots, features and online articles. I also contacted bloggers and online press with releases and other opportunities such as reviews and competitions, which taught me a lot about communication. I also got the chance to do some research on various topics such as trade shows, wholesalers and media contacts in Australia and America.

As well as my day to day duties I was able to help out on shoots for new collections, both on location and in the studio. This offered me a wider range of understanding for what the company does. Part of working with the PR team is sending out ‘Look Books’ to relevant press and so it was great to witness the process of how these are created.

On these shoots I was able to work with Ania, the Fashion Editor and also founder Baukjen, who both taught me a lot about having an eye for fashion. One of the best things about working with Isabella Oliver is the kind and patient nature of the employees, even when things get stressful, and this was evident on the shoots.

If this experience has taught me anything, its how invaluable work experience really is. It was that experience in 2009 that encouraged me to look into PR and the fashion industry, and coming back made me sure I had made the right choice for the right reasons. I even found myself looking back over the knowledge I learnt in my first year at university and gaining a new understanding for all the terms and theories we learnt. Working with Isabella Oliver has confirmed all of my reasons for getting into PR.

There’s never a dull day, it’s vital for any business and most importantly, no two days are ever the same. The thrill and excitement you get from working in a fast-paced industry supplies you with all the satisfaction you could wish for from a career.

I urge anyone studying PR, or even thinking about studying PR, to get out there and find out what it’s all about. It will help you gain a well-rounded view of the career opportunities you have in this industry. Although this was fashion PR I have also worked in retail and property PR. The great thing about PR is that there are so many paths you can take, so go out there and experience them. Apart from anything else, pushing for these experiences and finding and contacting people in the industry is also a great way to practice the important skills of persuasion and communication, vital for working in PR.

Fashion gets headlines

One of the most celebrated figures in fashion, Coco Chanel, was named as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20^th Century. Responsible for the fashion staple, the little black dress, Coco Chanel is still the talk of the town and idolised thirty years after her death.

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”

It’s hard to argue with that, even if you don’t consciously follow the fashion trends, you’ll be aware of the issues surrounding size zero and no doubt, blame the health of young women aspiring to it, on the fashion industry and their models. Everyone has an opinion on it. People are even cashing in on it.

Take Kenneth Tong as an example, the ex Big Brother contestant who developed a pro-anorexia campaign on Twitter. Whether or not you choose to believe his reasons for endorsing such an issue – it’s still an issue. It caused a stir provoking reactions from superstars like Rihanna: “Girls are dying all over the world because of ignorant individuals like this.”

So how does PR work in the industry today?

Fashion PR is notoriously one of the most competitive sectors of PR. The lifestyle the essence of public relations that people strive for: parties, celebrities, alcohol, freebies, sample sales and the use of Red Pages (the celebrity database).

Is that strictly the case?

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FASHION INTERN

So what can you expect in the average day of a fashion PR?

• Starting the day at around 9 the first port of call is to check and respond to any messages.
• You then trawl through all the daily newspapers, the weekend newspapers and magazines for the current trends and any coverage etc. All coverage needs to be filed in press portfolios.
• Meetings run throughout the day, for which the press portfolios need to be up-to-date and refreshments need to be ready and waiting.
• Samples are in and out of the office all day and need chasing up for return from magazines.
• Releases need to be pitched to journalists, sent out and chased up on.
• And if you have enough hours left in the day, the showroom has to be kept up to date at all times with the latest magazines, trends and samples from clients.
• All with the aim to leaving the office at around 6pm and fitting in an hour for lunch somewhere along the line.

Still interested?

GETTING INTO FASHION PR

So how can you make yourself the one the top fashion PR agencies and organisations want to hire? Experience.

Hannah Dick from Push PR, London explains that: “the most important thing you can do for your career is work experience. We look for people with at least one year of experience before hiring them. A lot of interns get offered a permanent job, so it’s definitely worth making that extra effort.”

There’s been a lot of negativity recently around unpaid work experience so how should you act? As much as you’re there for your CV and to learn the trade, you’re there to make their lives easier. Don’t ever lose sight of that.

Many agencies aren’t in the position to offer wages at the moment, but will offer to pay travel and lunch expenses.

TOP TIPS

• Prepare for the best and worst in people. You’re entering PR and fashion combined, you won’t get along with everyone. Don’t let it put you off.
• Quite simply, be polite! Your telephone manner could strongly influence whether they wish to interview you or not. Speaking rudely could get your email deleted – even with the best CV in the world.
• When completing your work experience, there’s always more work to be done. Don’t assume when you’ve finished that particular task that your time is your own, ask for MORE to do.
• Don’t take everything as the be all and end all; the fashion industry is about people wanting to LOOK nice.
• Use social media. Social media is becoming an everyday part of campaigns, if you can’t use it to represent yourself, how do you expect to use it to represent a brand? This doesn’t just include Facebook – use Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs etc.
• Enjoy the experiences given to you.

There are two types of client in the fashion industry, the clients that appeal to niche markets and are almost unheard of in the high street. When working with clients like these, you need to gain as much coverage as possible to increase awareness, association with the brand and generally boost sales. The other type of client is already established and more often wants coverage as a luxury and part of a portfolio than a necessity.

“When you think of the blur of all the brands that are out there, the ones you believe in and the ones you remember, like Chanel and Armani, are the ones that stand for something. Fashion is about establishing an image that consumers can adapt to their own individuality. And it’s an image that can change, that can evolve. It doesn’t reinvent itself every two years.” Ralph Lauren

With either type of client, the goal is simple: Your brand needs to be the one people think of in that sector.

PushPR are currently recruiting interns, if you’re interested please email Hannah: Hannah@pushpr.co.uk

At the MTV awards Gaga arrived in a dress made of meat, and at the Grammys we saw her arrive in a giant egg. Is this the real Lady Gaga or just an attention seeking superstar?

Fans were already aware she was to perform her new single ‘Born this way’, from her new album due out in May. However, when she stepped – or should I say, when she was carried – on to the red carpet inside a transparent egg, she may have just outdone herself.

Scantily-clad attendees carried her on a sedan chair down the red carpet sending the paparazzi into frenzy. One of her entourage explained to Ryan Seacrest:

‘She’s in an embryonic state and won’t be born until the performance.‘

So, why did she really arrive in ‘incubation’? Many people would argue that it’s because it was part of her performance. But never before has somebody hit the headlines for what they were wearing as much as Lady Gaga. Who knew that back in 2009, a ‘Kermit the Frog’ dress would make front pages?

She’s in every magazine without fail every week and this is down to one thing – her wacky costumes and funky hair dos!  Without these crazy outfits, would she be where she is today?

Probably not, there are so many other talented female singers at present: Rihanna, Beyonce and Cheryl Cole all have huge fan bases. But the press attention they receive is nothing compared to that of Lady Gaga. Cheryl Cole received worldwide coverage for her break-up and malaria scare, Rihanna for her arguments with her husband, whilst Beyonce seems to escape our headlines.

‘Everyone wants to look like her. She’ll walk around in London in her underwear and everyone will catch on.’ Akon

Akon is right in saying this. In the last two years, new hairstyles have emerged, girls wearing extreme make-up has become the norm and couture clothing is now standard evening wear. People want to be Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaydar

The gay community have also welcomed her with open arms. Her new single ‘Born this way’ is the first ever number one single to use the word ‘transgendered’. The song is getting the message across to the audience that you should stop being critical of yourself, because God made you that way.

Gaga has therefore normalised homosexuality, appealing to younger audiences with her work and embracing different sexualities.

‘No matter gay, straight or bi…lesbian, transgendered life, I’m on the right track baby I was born this way.’

So is Lady Gaga using PR in her songs to ‘buy’ the gay audience? She sings about it being ok to be gay or lesbian in a very explicit way – which no other modern singer has done.

This will appeal to a GLBT audience as there is still a lot of prejudice in the world today. Gaga is telling them she’s on their side and almost befriending them.

The lyrics are very personal to each individual who listens to it. She has a gay fan base bigger than that of any other current star.

Gaga also picks up publicity for her ‘wacky’ outfits when being photographed by fans, and these pictures being instantly uploaded onto blogs.

One blog, Gaga Stigmata, started in March 2010 has thousands of followers and is updated on a regular basis. So why is blogging so important to this star’s success?

A picture can be uploaded onto the internet for everyone to see within a matter of minutes. Therefore, if Gaga is spotted somewhere wearing a see through dress or just her underwear, someone could take a picture of this and it could be seen by thousands within the hour. By contrast, magazines are printed weekly or even monthly so it would take a lot longer for this picture to be circulated, and let’s be honest – if Gaga is spotted wearing something outrageous we all know about it before we see a picture.

PR queen

Gaga is the PR queen, a brand made even more popular through third party exposure. Wherever she lays her one-of-a-kind Christian Louboutins, the paparazzi migrate.

She sends a positive message to her fans; that they should be individual, should love themselves for who they are and not care what people think about them. Everyone will have their own individual opinion on Gaga.

As far as I’m concerned, I think she’s groundbreaking, fresh and very important in today’s music industry.

style rookie: in fashionable lower case

Thirteen year old Tavi Gevinson from Chicago created a blog from her bedroom at the age of only eleven.

Her young age raised suspicions that her blog had been fabricated by fashion insiders as a PR stunt.

But her fashion insight, personal opinions and the maturity of her writing skills have projected her into illustriousness, earning her over 50,000 committed readers and invitations to the most exclusive fashion shows as well as mountains of free designer clothes.

Tavi now has global fame and was even labelled as a ‘Voguista’, a unique, global style icon, by VOGUE Italia.

These days, any individual with internet access and a penchant for fashion cannot be unaware of the flood of independent fashion bloggers. The most influential among them are even reaching almost-celebrity status.

Style Bubble blog

London-based British blogger ‘Susie Bubble’, writer of independent fashion blog Style Bubble, claims that her writing is ‘personal’, ‘self-indulgent’ and that she is by no means a fashion expert or insider.

This was when creating her blog in 2006.

She now posts three times a day for her 10,000 daily followers, and in the past four years has been personally invited to events held by both Gucci and Chanel.

Style Bubble has been picked up as a fashion media outlet. But what is it that makes fashion blogs so popular?

Pitted against the prestige, experience and know-how of high fashion magazines such as VOGUE and ELLE, why is the fashion world so widely fascinated and influenced by these individuals with no qualifications, just a computer and an opinion?

Answer: The internet is a much faster medium than print. A blog post can be written and posted in a matter of minutes; a print magazine usually releases one edition per month.

Karen Kay of the Daily Mail described how someone in the audience can record every minor detail of a runway show and upload it onto the internet for style watchers across the globe to enjoy, all before the show has even finished. A few years ago, trends moved slowly around the globe; America was two seasons behind the UK.

High fashion to high street

Today, trends are far more global and there is less of a delay between high fashion and high street trends. Blogging is a way for people to keep abreast of the fashion world without the monthly anticipation of a brand new glossy. Top players in the fashion journalism world ELLE, VOGUE and HARPERS BAZAAR now all showcase their own blogs as part of their websites, usually consisting of smaller feature and news stories than those appearing in the print issues; sheer proof that blogs are now a significant component of fashion journalism.

Blogs have also made the fashion world more accessible by providing us with a viable and current awareness of the industry without having to pay for the more prestigious, and therefore more expensive, print titles.

The writing tends to go unedited; most blogs are the work of one individual with no editor to supervise and its main critics are its audience, who are active in commenting on features, giving feedback and expressing their own views.

Most of the opinions and reports posted by fashion bloggers are raw and honest with far less PR involvement than print titles. This is not to say however that the fashion blogging world remains promotion- and persuasion-free.

The relationship between designers and fashion bloggers is almost parallel to that between PROs and journalists. The biggest designers will vie for a mention in the most influential and widely-read blogs for publicity and promotion therefore striving to maintain positive communication with bloggers. It is not unusual for bloggers to be invited to fashion shows or to review pieces they have been sent for free from designers.

Not dead yet

So will we see the death of the glossy magazine culture?  Not while Vogue UK manages to maintain a circulation of over 850,000.

Stephanie Ayre

Although bloggers have a right to their own opinions, designers and the fashion print media will continue to make the running in broadcasting the latest trends. This will continue giving fashion bloggers food for thought; providing inspiration for opinionated blog posts.

Browsing Google Reader will never quench the thirst of fashion followers in the same way as flicking through a brand new, shiny copy of Harper’s Bazaar and critiquing every image and sentence.

Print media provides us with higher quality writing, more acclaimed and innovative photography, more pioneering ideas and more in-depth and exclusive interviews and features.

Expect a growth in fashion blogging and a bigger dependency on the fashion blogosphere, but for the foreseeable future, print titles are here to stay.

Like many other budding female PR students, I have always been intrigued by the prospect of working in the cosmetics industry. My curiosity has led me to wonder if the image of what it is to be a beauty PR practitioner reflects reality; will it be as ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ as it might appear?

During my first and second years studying BA Public Relations at Leeds Metropolitan University I was fascinated to discover the type of PR tactics used in promoting skincare. I also wondered how top-end beauty journalists operate and if the perks of being involved in beauty PR are really that glamorous.

Being Absolutely Fabulous

When I was offered a placement for a top international cosmetics brand in the heart of an exclusive area in London, I could not turn it down. Despite being reluctant to leave the comforts of Leeds, I was intrigued at the type of graduate opportunities that might open up to me after a year’s experience for such a renowned brand.

Older students had advised me that a placement really puts the theory learnt at university into practice. I hoped that having hands on experience would mean I would be in a better position to gain employment on graduating from university. After the many rumours of ‘fluffy PR’ in industries such as beauty, I was a little unsure, but hopeful that I would be able to achieve these goals from a placement in the cosmetics world.

After leaving Leeds and moving to the capital, I soon began to realise that the day-to-day duties in the press office were fairly similar in their nature to other in-house press offices I have come across before.

On previous short-term placements for Marks and Spencer I was able to see a link in certain PR tactics. They consisted of answering press calls, actioning emails from consumer, national and regional press, and sending out products. For such an upmarket cosmetics brand, a close relationship with top-end consumer magazines such as Vogue, Tatler and Harper’s Bazaar was absolutely vital. This was essential for product promotion to the desired market sector.

I saw that breakfast meetings and long lunches in top London restaurants are part and parcel of a beauty PR’s day to day activities – though I didn’t get to enjoy these myself.

Product information and samples are given out at these meetings. I found it fascinating to be involved first hand with these journalists; some were demanding but fortunately I did not come across any as fearsome as Anna Wintour (as portrayed in The Devil Wears Prada) during the year and many of the journalists I met were charming and a pleasure to work with. As far as perks went, there were certainly many to be had with plenty of free samples.

I realised however that it is important that all staff members use the products in order to be authentic when selling them on the counter in a department store, to a journalist over the phone or at a launch. After all you just don’t know until you try.

I mixed with various associated areas of the beauty industry such as make-up artists, therapists and manicurists. They would often be supplied with their favourite products in order to encourage them to continue to use and promote them to their clients.

How the beauty industry works

The importance of these relationships meant I developed a competent knowledge of the different segments that make up the beauty industry. I was surprised that these relationships were considered as important as those with top beauty journalists.VIPs were also significant to the reputation of the brand.

Assisting with events such as the launch of new products was always a very exciting part of the role. I was able to see in action how the PR practitioner and beauty journalist interact.

I learnt that as with any other industry, the PR must at all times be charming, helpful and friendly and certainly never argumentative with journalists.

My role was not limited to PR but also involved an equal amount of marketing. This was very important as I was able to understand that public relations plays an important role in the marketing mix. Visiting counter staff in both Harrods and Harvey Nichols on a weekly basis meant I was able to see elements of the marketing mix in action on the cosmetic counters.

Beauty takes hard work

Although being a beauty PR is, on the surface, a very glamorous job, like any other it requires dedication and hard work. All members of the press office worked extremely hard and were never afraid to get their hands dirty, involving themselves in simple ‘intern’ tasks in order to facilitate the smooth running of the business. There were also many late nights when all members of staff stayed in order to get things finished.

The experience I had was fantastic and really gave me an exciting insight into the cosmetics world. This was not restricted purely to a public relations perspective but opened my eyes to how a beauty business works at an international level, identifying for me the specific elements that contribute to a business. I was able to see how closely the different departments work together and it enabled me to, for the first time, not look at PR in isolation but as part of an essential mix. I was pleasantly surprised by many of my experiences during the year and I never stopped being fascinated as I discovered more about the industry I was becoming a part of.

In terms of relevant experience for my third year and for the future, I now feel confident to write a well rounded dissertation with the knowledge that I have had hands-on experience of how PR operates at an international level.  I have developed invaluable interpersonal skills and feel I will be confident in whatever PR situation I find myself in the future.

Simply being in an office environment for a year has given me skills that will prove invaluable on graduating.

Perhaps the true value of my placement was not being discouraged by the reputation of the beauty industry but having the courage and opportunity to try it first hand. I was certainly very lucky in my placement as I was not restricted to a product cupboard for a year but actually given a real PR role. I dealt with real situations and with journalists on a one-to-one level.

Of course there were products to be unpacked, teas to be made and journalists to run around after. But you have to start somewhere.

Alice Harper was asked not to name her placement employer in this article